Prior attempts to create a valuation tool in the property management field have focused upon a custom-built spreadsheet model or a computer software program designed for operation on a user's desktop computer, such as the “ARGUS” commercial real estate valuation program. The constraint in using these prior—implemented property valuation solutions is that they are stand-alone computing models that fail to harness the distributed computing power of remote information sources and efficient communications offered by the global Internet.
This constraint upon prior valuation software solutions requires users to analyze comparables supporting valuation analysis in a suboptimal way. For example, a user typically completes a time-consuming process of compiling property comparables from multiple sources, analyzing their relevancy, using them as a guide to the model inputs and manually entering the best estimate. Large financial institutions typically employ teams of analysts who gather property comparables data and store them in proprietary databases for use in desktop computing-based valuation models.
The property valuation models in the prior art suffer from the disadvantage of being disconnected from the property-related data that drive the valuation calculations. In view of the foregoing, there is a need in the property valuation art to connect the valuation model(s) and property valuation data, such as property comparables, via an efficient computing structure of a distributed computing network. There is a further need in the property valuation art to efficiently access relevant property information while minimizing the possibility for valuation errors to create an accurate property valuation.